This invention relates generally to an electronic system for providing information to players on a playing field. More particularly, it relates to a system for determining the position of a golfer on a golf course and for communicating that position along with other relevant information to the golfer.
There are many thousands of golf courses in the United States and abroad, and tens of millions of people who play golf. Some people who play golf play regularly at the same course. However, quite often people playing at a course are unfamiliar with the course topography. Additionally, there is a growing number of visually impaired people who enjoy golfing. To accommodate these players, course operators provide maps, usually as part of a score card, which illustrates the layout of the course and indicates the distance from the tee to the flag for each hole. Additionally, the courses usually include distance markers, placed at various locations along the course. By way of example, at golf courses located in the United States, each hole typically includes a distance marker located along the fairway to indicate when a golfer is 150 yards from the flag.
In addition to such aids provided by golf courses, there are also a variety of prior art distancing and ranging devices. These devices also include systems for assisting a golfer's performance. The prior art systems typically include some mechanism for attempting to measure distances between a golfer and a variety of landmarks on a golf course. Such prior art devices employ a variety of methods to perform distance measurements. Some rely on visually siting the flag, while others require the flag to act as a receiver or transmitter of some sort. Other prior art systems rely on developing a coordinate system for the golf course and use linear accelerometers to track a golfers movement along the course. Yet other systems require the golf course to install tracking sensors below the fairway turf.
There are several drawbacks with regard to the present systems for informing golfers as to their position on a golf course. One such drawback is that the maps that are provided are usually very small (typically all eighteen holes are contained on a card that is less than 3".times.5") and lack sufficient detail. By way of example, the maps often provide the distance from the tee to the flag and the general shape of the fairway, but fail to indicate the location of hazards such as accumulations of water and sand traps. Even when a course map depicts hazards, it virtually never provides distances to those hazards, nor does it typically provide other important distances, such as to the front of the green or to the back of the green. A further drawback is that the distance markers that the operators locate on the course are sometimes difficult to locate. Often small shrubs are used as distance markers. Other times, a small stake is located along the edge of the fairway. Still other times, a small metal or cement plate is placed in the ground. Because these distance markers are difficult to locate and the maps are very small, their usefulness is impeded for those who need them most: golfers who have never played the course and those golfers who are visually impaired. Another drawback is that the maps and markers which the course operators provide are often not up to date. As a golf season progresses, courses can become worn from over-use. Consequently, course operators periodically relocate the tees and the flags. As a result, the distance information provided by the maps and the markers is often inaccurate.
Another significant drawback is that, with the present system of score cards and accompanying map, it is difficult for a golfer to track historical information with regard to play at a particular course. By way of example, unless a golfer takes notes and saves old score cards, if a golfer only plays a course a few times each year, it is virtually impossible for the golfer to recollect performance on a particular hole. Consequently, even if the golfer encounters the same situation more than one time, each time is almost as if it is the first.
The more automated prior art systems also suffer from several disadvantages. Since the flag is not always visible, those systems that require siting the flag are not continuously operational. For example, if a player cannot see the flag, that player cannot use the system to determine distance. This situation can arise due to players forgetting to replace the flag or can be simply due to the topography of the course. Another disadvantage is that systems that require special tracking sensors to be installed can be very labor intensive and costly to maintain, not to mention disruptive to play during installation and maintenance. Further, other prior art electronic systems are typically complex and expensive in the methods employed to acquire positional information.
Yet another prior art golf measurement system utilizes accelerometers, such as the described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,537, entitled "Golf Distance Tracking, Club Selection, and Player Performance Statistics Apparatus and Method" by Andrew Barber. U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,537 is herein incorporated by reference. In general, this system attempts to determine the distance from the golf ball to the flag by keeping track of the accelerations experienced by the system after tee-off. This acceleration history is then used to quantify the distance traveled by the system toward the flag so that the distance traveled may be subtracted from the total yardage for the hole to determine yardage remaining to the flag. However, this accelerometer-based golf measurement system is prone to errors in determining the distance traveled because it does not compensate for several error sources, such as the force of gravity and forces of centripetal acceleration, which affect the system during travel.
It is, accordingly, an object of the invention to provide golfers with information regarding their distance to the flag.
Another object of the invention is to provide golfers with distance information, regarding their distance to the flag, which is based upon accelerometers and which is more accurate than existing golf measurement systems utilizing accelerometers.
Another object of the invention is to provide an accelerometer-based golf measurement system which minimizes the aforementioned difficulties associated with determining the distance traveled after tee-off, thereby improving the accuracy of determining the distance from the golf ball to the flag.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide golfers with information regarding distances to hazards on a golf course.
A further object of the invention is to provide golfers with accurate distance information on a golf course, regardless of the movement of the tees and the flags.
Another object of the present invention is to provide golfers with adaptive information regarding proper club selection.
Other general and specific objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.